Carlos Alcaraz reveals how fans recreating infamous bee invasion inspired his dominant display against Denis Shapovalov at Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz opened up about the impact the supporters dressed up as bees had on his performance during his third-round match at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters. The supporters' costumes were a reference to the shocking bee invasion that took place at the Tennis Paradise last year.

During his run to the title in 2024, a strange incident took place during Alcaraz's quarterfinal battle against Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard was attacked by a swarm of bees in a concerning incident that forced the match to be temporarily suspended. However, once the ordeal was dealt with, the match resumed with Alcaraz claiming the win.

Funnily, during his third-round match against Denis Shapovalov at this year's Indian Wells Masters, a group of fans decided to hilariously dress up as bees, much to the delight of the 21-year-old, who was all smiles at this bee invasion. He comfortably took care of business, handing the Canadian a 6-2, 6-4 defeat to continue his quest for a three-peat.

During the post-match press conference, Carlos Alcaraz was questioned about the impact such incidents cause to which he said how the incident impacted him and his tennis positively.

"It is funny, because, I mean, it helped me a lot, because, you know, during the whole first set, I was looking at them and laughing (smiling). And I always say that when I laughing, when I having fun on the court I show good tennis."

He also added that he had taken a selfie with that group of fans following his win.

"So probably thanks to them, so I could show good tennis as well. I didn't realize until the second game, the camera put them on the screen. So it was funny. As I said, I took a selfie with them at the end because I think they deserve it."

The four-time Grand Slam champion also met up with Lance Davis, the man who came forth as a messiah to solve the bee invasion last year. The two met during the coin toss of Alcaraz's opening match against Quentin Halys and also shared a hilarious interaction.

On the tennis side, Carlos Alcaraz is looking solid as he looks to conquer a three-peat at the coveted Masters 1000 event.

Carlos Alcaraz will face Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters 2025

Carlos Alcaraz - Source: Getty

Carlos Alcaraz will take on Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round of the 2025 Indian Wells Masters, in what will be the sixth meeting between the two men. Though the Spaniard leads their rivalry 3-2, it is worth noting that the Bulgarian was the winner of their two most recent matches.

Dimitrov has had a tough start to his 2025 season, having to retire mid-match on quite a few occasions. However, the 33-year-old is playing some great tennis in Indian Wells, where he kicked things off in the second round, after receiving a bye due to his seeding, with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Nuno Borges.

Dimitrov and Gael Monfils turned back the clock to put up a staggering performance in their third-round match, which the former ended up edging 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(2).

The winner of the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov will face either Francisco Cerundolo or Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.